The Man from Montana

by Julianna Morris

  Though from what Clay had seen of his former sister-in-law, mischief was a distinct possibility.

  CHAPTER THREE

  “SHE ORDERED HOW MUCH?” Clay clenched the phone in his hand so hard it was a wonder it didn’t break. “We don’t use four hundred pounds of coffee in a year, much less in a month. You know that, Hans.”

  “Yes, I know and it’s all right,” soothed Hans Garrett, the manager from the local coffee company. “The amount was so much higher than your usual telephone orders, I told the sales rep that I’d verify it with you.”

  “I appreciate it. Just send twenty pounds of the Special Reserve regular coffee beans, and twenty of the decaf in our usual eight-ounce packages.”

  “Sounds good. I’m going down to Kalispell tomorrow, so I can run the order by the ranch in the morning.”

  Clay disconnected the call. It was the third purchase Tessa had messed up in less than a week. The other two errors had been fixed just as quickly and were sort of understandable, but this one? It would have cost the company a huge amount. Good coffee wasn’t cheap.

  He rubbed his throbbing temples, grateful that the Elk Point Coffee Company provided a high level of personalized service. It had been a bad week, not that Tessa was totally responsible for everything that had gone wrong. For example, she’d had nothing to do with one of his guides breaking an ankle while playing basketball with his kid brother.

  When Clay’s injuries from the rescue effort he attempted during the accident had sidelined him for a few months, he’d been covered by worker’s compensation. But that wouldn’t help Oliver. The doctor had said he’d be in a cast at least eight to twelve weeks, which meant no backpacking and no horseback riding. After that, Oliver would still have a long period of recovery and physical therapy, so he was going to be out of action for the whole season.

  Still, maybe there was a partial solution.

  Clay walked over to the Carson Outdoor Adventures office and saw Tessa on the phone. She glanced up when the door opened and nodded to acknowledge him, then returned her attention to the caller.

  “I’m happy to help,” she said, typing something into the computer, after which she explained the general climate conditions in northern Montana for July. Then she reminded the caller to keep in mind that the weather was unpredictable and to come prepared. “I hope you have a beautiful wedding. We look forward to seeing you on your honeymoon,” she added.

  “Honeymoon?” Clay asked after Tessa had hung up the phone.

  “She’s one of the clients whose trip you confirmed on Tuesday. I gave her weather advice, courtesy of the internet. It wasn’t anything she couldn’t have looked up herself if she wasn’t drowning in wedding details. I remember when my sis—” She stopped and seemed flustered. “Sorry. Never mind.”

  Clay hesitated. He didn’t enjoy telling someone they’d made a mistake, but it was part of owning a business. And he also needed to remember that he had thrown Tessa into the job with almost no training. “I just spoke to the sales manager over at the Elk Point Coffee Company. He says you called in a total order of four hundred pounds of coffee beans. It should have been twenty pounds of regular, and twenty pounds of decaf. That’s a difference of over twenty-five hundred dollars.”

  Dismay darkened Tessa’s blue eyes and she glanced at a piece of paper on the desk. When she looked back, the emotion had vanished. “I’m awfully sorry. I must have misunderstood.”

  “Yeah, well, you’re excellent with clients, but paperwork and other details don’t seem to be your forte,” he said carefully.

  Her chin went up. “I never claimed to be trained for this kind of work. Do you want my resignation? You don’t have to pay me for the week and I’ll move out of the bunkhouse immediately.”

  “That isn’t what I’m saying. The error was caught in time, so no harm done, but making a change is a good idea. One of my guides has been sidelined with an injury. I’m going to see if Oliver is willing to take over here, and then you can become a trainee guide and general helper.” Clay held up a hand when he saw relief in Tessa’s expression. “Don’t get too excited. General helper means you’ll do odd jobs, which could include scrubbing down the guest barbecue area or cleaning out horse stalls.”

  “That isn’t a problem. I told you that my grandparents board horses. I’ve been helping them with chores practically every weekend since I was a small kid.”

  “You mentioned being a longtime horseback rider. Do you have experience riding in the mountains? I’m not prying, I just need to know your skill level if you’re training as a guide.”

  Tessa nodded. “I often ride in the desert, but also in the mountains around Tucson. And unlike what some people think, desert terrain can be rugged, which it is around my grandparents’ property.”

  “You seem to have an ideal situation down there,” Clay said, realizing there was an underlying question in his statement. She obviously loved her home, so why would she need to get away for an extended period? “Aside from dealing with parental expectations,” he added.

  Tessa tucked a lock of dark blond hair behind her ear, looking uncomfortable. “I’m just taking a break. Look, I shouldn’t have let you assume my mom and dad put pressure on me to work with them. They didn’t. I have a degree in landscape architecture and my focus was on developing sustainable landscapes. I’m sure eco issues are just as important here in Montana, but the desert is far more fragile than many people think, and I wanted to do my part to protect it. I still do, so that hasn’t changed.”

  Clay measured the emotions in her face. Strangely, he thought this was the first time Tessa had been completely up front with him. Not only that, her concern about the environment resonated with his own views. It was the reason the vehicles used by Carson Outdoor Adventures were hybrids, and why there were solar panels on each of the buildings, including the barns. Solar panels didn’t fit the traditional atmosphere of a ranch, but savings on the power bills had already paid for the upgrade.

  “How does all of that connect to the pool business?” he asked.

  “Because it makes more sense ecologically to restore existing swimming pools and put in landscapes around them that don’t suck up huge amounts of water,” Tessa said. “It’s more economical, too. Mom and Dad let me come in and do what I wanted. They even encourage people with fixable pools to consider restoration, instead of replacement. Not that they’ve ever tried to convince customers to go the most expensive route.”

  “They sound supportive,” Clay said, feeling almost envious. His father was still struggling to accept that neither of his sons was following in his footsteps.

  Tessa’s smile was rueful. “They’ve been great, though I don’t think they realized what I do would become such a big part of the business.”

  “I get it—you’re worried about them feeling displaced. That makes sense. Being away for a while might help, but have you considered becoming an independent contractor? That could help resolve the situation.”

  She glanced away. To hide what was in her eyes? Clay didn’t know, except he was becoming a little too intrigued by Tessa. He appreciated strong, self-assured women and he sympathized with her frustration over things going poorly in the office. Plainly, she was the kind of person who succeeded at what she tried to do, and she’d probably still succeed if he gave her enough time. He just couldn’t afford to do it when there was a workable alternative.

  “I’ve considered starting my own business, but I’m not ready,” she explained finally. “You know, I’ve been reading about the wilderness complex around Glacier National Park. I see some of the trails allow horses, and other don’t. That must make it easier for backpackers.”

  It was a deliberate change of subject, shutting the door on further personal discussion, however minimally personal that discussion had gotten. Still, the emotion in her voice when talking about the fragility of the desert had been revealing.


  She cared deeply about the place where she’d grown up, the same way he cared about Montana.

  “Um, right,” Clay said. “I’ll loan you material on the region, along with maps that show the various trails. Also books about our animals and plants and geology. Try to absorb as much as possible, though no one expects you to become an expert overnight.”

  * * *

  “I’LL START STUDYING IMMEDIATELY,” Tessa promised.

  She was excited, even though she’d never considered being an outdoor adventure guide before. Not that she was going to abandon her career; she loved what she did in Arizona and was actively involved in creating the landscapes she designed. But guiding would be interesting and different, despite her true reasons for coming to the area.

  “Great. I’ll phone Oliver. Maybe he can start next week.”

  Tessa wanted to dance a jig in relief as Clay went outside to make his call. After five days in the Carson Adventures office, she was exhausted. Some people had a gift for this type of work—she just wasn’t one of them.

  Nonetheless, she wasn’t entirely at fault for the coffee mix-up. It had been based on a note from Clay’s brother, saying how much was needed. Someone with experience might have known those scribbles meant twenty pounds of regular and twenty of decaffeinated, but it had looked like twenty cartons of each. She should have clarified the amount when the coffee sales rep said, You mean boxes, not cartons, but she’d thought it was just a difference in terminology.

  Besides, Carson Outdoor Adventures seemed to use lots of coffee. And not being a coffee drinker herself, Tessa didn’t know how much was a reasonable amount. But she didn’t mind taking the blame for it, since she should have double-checked before confirming the order.

  As for some of her other errors and problems getting things done? They were embarrassing.

  She made a copy of Andrew’s note about needed supplies, then dropped it in the coffee file, where it should have gone in the first place. That was one of the challenges of running an office. You needed to put all the parts together to make everything work out right. While Tessa had always respected her mother’s talent for record-keeping, her admiration had skyrocketed over the past few days.

  She slipped the folded photocopy into her pocket, just in case she needed it in the future. Luckily the copier hadn’t messed up on her again. Practically every time Clay had come into the office this week, she’d been clearing a jam in the mechanism.

  “Are you using an unusual setting or something?” he’d asked on the third occasion. “The machine is old, but we’ve rarely had an issue with it.”

  “I’m just pressing the button,” Tessa had declared, trying not to sound hostile. Anyway, for a supposedly ecofriendly company, Carson Outdoor Adventures seemed to rely heavily on paper.

  She had to stop letting the stress get to her. Trying to do a foreign type of work, on top of worrying how Clay might react if he discovered her connection to Renee, made her feel as if she was performing a high-wire act without a net.

  Worst of all, she’d only learned a small amount about her sister’s visit to Montana. Ironically, what she had discovered was because Clay had asked her to sort the company’s digital photos into folders. A make-work project, Tessa had suspected, trying not to roll her eyes. But in the process of sorting the picture files, she’d found a large collection of group photos, some of which included her twin. The guides shot them before each adventure tour and Renee had obviously taken quite a few trips before her accident, even more than she’d told the family.

  Tessa’s throat tightened at the memory of her sister’s face in those photographs. Renee’s obvious trepidation begged the same old question—why had she suddenly started doing extreme sports? Was it to make her new boyfriend happy?

  The office door opened again and Tessa tried to compose herself.

  It was Clay, looking pleased. “Oliver will start in the office on Monday. He’s familiar with how we do things, so the new plan should work out okay. I’ll have to juggle the schedule, but it shouldn’t be too hard. You’ll go on trips with me where a support employee is needed—that way I can do training and evaluate your progress. When you don’t have a trip, you’ll be assigned to other work around the ranch.”

  Tessa nodded, both pleased and bothered about spending so much concentrated time with Clay. While he could have the answers she needed, he was dynamic and compelling. In any other circumstance, she might find him attractive.

  Any other circumstance?

  Tessa gave a mental shrug. Okay, Clay was attractive no matter what. But he was connected to Renee and her death, whether or not they’d been romantically involved. The reminder would be too hard to handle.

  Luckily she was done for the day and Tessa left him at the computer, reviewing reservation requests.

  Outside, the air was softly warm and she tried to shake off her mixed emotions. The green, tree-studded hills set against the backdrop of the mountains were inviting, and she went to the bunkhouse to change her clothes and shoes for a walk.

  So far, she was still the only resident in the bunkhouse. The building was designed to have small individual bedrooms with private bathrooms, and a common area with couches and a television on one end, along with a communal kitchen and laundry utility room on the other.

  Before leaving she made a face call to her mother.

  “Hello, dear,” Melanie Alderman answered with an eager smile. “It’s good to see you.”

  “It’s good to see you, too, Mom.” Ordinarily Tessa didn’t bother with the phone’s video feature, but while in Montana she was using it for every call home. Her folks loved it.

  “You look tired. How was your day?” Melanie asked.

  Tessa stifled a yawn. “I honestly don’t know how you do this stuff, week in and week out. But I’ve gotten a reprieve. One of Clay Carson’s other guides was injured playing basketball and is going to work in the office, while I become a trainee guide and general odd-jobber. I’m sorry he was hurt, but it works out well for me.”

  Though Melanie smiled again, her expression was strained. She’d dropped weight since they’d lost Renee and spent too many hours at the company, rather than deal with her memories at home. It was the same with Tessa’s father.

  “Running an office isn’t difficult. It’s partly a matter of paying attention,” Melanie said.

  “It’s more than that. This stuff is hard. Why do you think Dad and I leave most of it in your hands?”

  “Patience helps. Isn’t that what you tell your landscaping clients?”

  Tessa wrinkled her nose and then grinned. “My landscaping clients don’t realize how expensive it is to install fully grown desert plants until I show them the prices. They’re usually okay with the smaller ones once they see the cost difference. I dread the day someone insists on a full-grown saguaro cactus. If I could even find one that’s legal to move. Those things are over a hundred years old and deserve to be left where they started life.”

  “Mmm, I agree. It must be strange to be in Montana, where everything is so green.”

  “It’s green around Tucson, too,” Tessa said stoutly. The shades of greens were subtler at home, but that just made the wildflowers appear brighter. And how could anything be as peaceful as a dawn horseback ride in the desert?

  The sound of a child’s high-pitched laughter broke into Tessa’s attention and she glanced out of the open window. It was Andrew Carson’s little boy. She hadn’t had much contact with him, though she often saw him playing in the large fenced yard shared by the two main houses. Now that was a yard begging for attention. The scraggly grass had been mowed and there were sticks along the fence that might be trees, but that was all she could say for it.

  “Who is that?” Melanie asked.

  “Derry Carson.” Tessa turned the phone around to show her, then turned it back again. “He’s playing with his uncle’s dog. That
is, Clay’s dog. Clay isn’t married or even engaged, as far as I know.”

  Her mother swallowed visibly. “Have you spoken to Mr. Carson about your sister? Renee seemed really taken with him.”

  “No. And nobody has mentioned Clay having a girlfriend, though I’m not sure they would. Gossip doesn’t appear to be a big thing here. He seems to be very private—conversant about nature with his clients, but closed emotionally. Anyway, I feel strange about the situation. I didn’t intend to get a job and now...”

  “I know you’re doing this for us as well as yourself, but you could just come home,” Melanie said quietly. “No matter what you find out, it won’t bring Renee back. Besides, you already have customers waiting for your landscape designs. They want you and no one else.”

  Tessa sighed. She appreciated being in demand, but this was something she needed to do, and she thought her parents needed answers almost as much. They were tearing themselves up over whether they could have done anything to change what had happened.

  “Ask Freddie to take pictures, videos and 3D scans of the different sites,” Tessa said. “He knows what I need in order to work. There’s Wi-Fi on the ranch, so I can check emails and access the company website whenever I’m not on a hike or something. I’ll talk to the clients by phone and create the designs here.”

  “Should I send your drafting tools up there?”

  “I should be able to get what I need in Elk Point or Kalispell.” Tessa did most of her initial work on paper, though she had computer-aided design software on her laptop. “Give my love to Dad,” she told her mother. “And don’t worry, we’re going to figure things out. As soon as I get a chance, I’ll go to the sheriff’s office and ask for a copy of the accident report.”

  Melanie bit her lip. “I just don’t understand how Renee could have been on that raft in the first place. She disliked outdoors activities and was scared of rivers. It’s why we started letting her stay with your grandparents when we went camping or hiking as a family. So the accident report won’t tell us what Renee was thinking or why she was in Montana.”